Eagles D coordinator is a Caps fan

(By Matt Rourke - AP)

Over the holiday weekend, I wrote this little story about the brothers McDermott: older brother Tim is the senior vice president and chief marketing officer for the Caps, and younger brother Sean is the Eagles' first-year defensive coordinator.

Which means that the Eagles' defensive coordinator is now a Caps fan, which, considering the whole Philly-D.C. thing, and the fact that the brothers grew up rooting for Philly teams, is kind of unusual. I asked Sean whether he follows the Caps closely.

"Do I?" he asked rhetorically. "Every year when the playoffs come around and the Caps are in, I mean, I'm right there. I get pretty into it. I try to get down to the Verizon Center and wear my red. I mean, I'm into it. I'm always in my heart a Flyers fan, but when it comes to family and the blood sweat and tears my brother's put into it, I've got to go with the Capitals. When I'm down there at the games, my wife was looking at me like I'm crazy. I had my red on and I was getting into it. It's very infrequent that I can go to a game and cheer where I'm not coaching. I'm just like a little kid when I'm at those games, just enjoying the entertainment."

I also asked him what he thought when his brother left the world of football, which is sort of the family business.

"What better organization to work in the hockey world than the Washington Capitals, with a dynamic star like Ovechkin and a dynamic owner like Leonsis?" Sean McDermott said.

Course, this also means that Tim McDermott, the Caps exec, is out cheering for the Eagles every Sunday. Even when, like last week, they're facing the Skins. I asked him if this was ever awkward, as a D.C. sports official.

"Not at all," Tim McDermott said. "He's my brother, he's my best friend, and I will root for whatever team he is coaching, flat out."